MARATHON man Charlie Spedding is supporting a cross country race in honour of a former athlete who died during a swimming trip.

Anne-Marie Readshaw's former school Tudhoe St Charles RC, near Spennymoor, County Durham, is staging a cross country relay on Friday for pupils from the Spennymoor and Ferryhill areas.

Anne-Marie was 13 when she is believed to have suffered an epileptic fit in the baths at Spennymoor Leisure Centre last September.

A promising athlete, she won trophies as a member of Shildon Athletic Club and for St Charles RC, which competes in a Spennymoor and Ferryhill cross country league.

Mr Spedding, who lives near Durham and who won both the London Marathon and Olympic bronze, in Los Angeles, in 1984, will start Friday's race at Tudhoe Grange Comprehensive School. He will present the winner with a trophy.

St Charles teacher Sue Mitchell hopes to stage the run every year in Anne-Marie's memory.

She said: "She enjoyed running and it will be a lovely tribute to her."